Navajo Nation leaders delayed the reopening of government buildings until the middle of August as they extended an emergency declaration amid rising coronavirus cases in surrounding areas off the reservation.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said he signed an order extending the emergency declaration, keeping government offices and entities closed until Aug. 16.
“The data shows that the Navajo people are doing a good job in bringing eh number of COVID-19 cases to a steady decrease on the Navajo Nation, but nearby border towns and cities such as Phoenix and Albuquerque continue to show increases in new cases,” Nez said in a statement. “We cannot play politics with this potentially deadly virus, instead we have to listen to our health care experts and analyze the data.”
The Navajo Nation’s stay-at-home order also remains in effect, requiring all individuals on Navajo Nation land to stay at home and limit public contact with others.
The Navajo Department of Health reported 45 new cases and six new deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday, Nez tweeted.